What About Gas Price Stimulus Checks? Democratic Lawmakers Are Working On It.

Congress evaluates alternatives to help mitigate the high cost of gasoline.

Lawmakers in Congress are working on two proposals to help people deal with the spike in gasoline prices, which is due in part to the Ukraine-Russia war.

Democratic lawmakers Mike Thompson (Calif.), John Larson (Conn.), and Lauren Underwood (Ill.) have introduced the Gas Rebate Act of 2022 that would give people an energy rebate of $100 per month (and $100 for each dependent) any month that the national average gas price exceed $4.00 per gallon for the rest of 2022.

The rebate will follow the same phaseout as the most recent Economic Impact Payments (EIPs) where $100 will be given for single filers earning less than $75,000 and phased out to $80,000, and $100 for joint filers earning less than $150,000 and phased out at $160,000.

The other proposal was made by Democratic Rep. Peter DeFazio (Ore.), which is the Stop Gas Price Gouging Tax and Rebate Act that would create a windfall profit tax on excessive corporate profits and return the revenue to American consumers in the form of a tax rebate. “My legislation would tax Big Oil’s excess profits in 2022 and return the revenue back to Americans. It’s beyond time to put people over profits—period,”  DeFazio said.